ORIGINAL RESEARCH
Changes in Land Cover and Management
of Floodplains Located in Towns Along the Oder
River in the Context of Flood Risk Assessment
Ewa Głosińska1, Łukasz Lechowski2
1Department of Spatial Management, Faculty of Geographical and Geological Sciences,
Adam Mickiewicz University, Poznań, Poland
2Department of Geoinformation, Faculty of Geographical Sciences, University of Lodz, Łódź, Poland
Adam Mickiewicz University, Poznań, Poland
2Department of Geoinformation, Faculty of Geographical Sciences, University of Lodz, Łódź, Poland
Pol. J. Environ. Stud. 2014;23(1):73–84
KEYWORDS
ABSTRACT
This article describes the changes in the land cover and management of floodplains in towns located on
Poland’s Oder River, estimates flood risk and how it has been changing in these towns, and how these changes
have affected the environment. The paper also includes an analysis of trends in floodplain management
defined in local planning documents. The research was conducted for the period of 1995-2010 and included
two towns: Kostrzyn on the Oder and Krosno Odrzańskie. The former lies in the lower course of the Oder and
the latter in its middle section. The research indicates that flood risk has risen due to the continuous development
of urbanized areas (both unbuilt and built-up) that used to be exploited as arable land. That had a negative
effect on the environment, as well.
